'I am deeply regretting what I have done, and I am not resigning,' Weiner said Monday. |
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Weiner presents an unusual case for Democratic leaders.

Unlike relatively obscure politicians embroiled in recent sex scandals — former New York Reps. Eric Massa, Vito Fossella and Chris Lee among them — Weiner was a familiar face, and a strong voice for the party, before his career took a turn for the worse.

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He built his reputation on cable television, as an articulate but unsuccessful advocate for a public option in last year’s health care law. As such, he had been an increasingly formidable member of the Democratic Party’s lineup in the House and, now, as a result, is a bigger liability than some small-time back-bencher.

Ironically, his stature as a national figure was bolstered by a seeming mastery of the social media websites Facebook and Twitter, where his quick wit, love of sports and sharp partisan edge were always evident. For some correspondents, Weiner presented even more of himself.

The Websites www.biggovernment.com and www.radaronline.com published new material on Monday, including bare-chested shots of Weiner and correspondence that a woman said she had with the congressman. Weiner, who claimed last week that his electronic accounts had been hacked, has said he couldn’t deny with “certitude” that he was the man photographed in a close-up shot of bulging gray underpants that was posted to his yfrog account more than a week ago. On Monday, Weiner confessed that he had lied.

Weiner’s marriage to Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, only increased his stature in Democratic circles — and added to the intrigue surrounding his foibles.

He repeatedly apologized to Abedin for the online relationships, which he numbered at six.

Weiner, according to RadarOnline, wrote to a woman via Facebook “ridiculous bulge in my shorts now. wanna see?”

The woman replied “Yea! can u send a pic?”

Weiner said he’d take a photograph but never sent one, according to the report.

As it turns out, there were others out there.

The bare-chested pictures were sent on May 20, long after Lee resigned on Feb. 9 when it was revealed that he had sent a similar half-naked picture of himself to a woman he met on the website Craigslist.

Like a vote already cast, lawmakers are now very aware that there’s no way to get photographs back once they’ve been sent out over the Web.

John Ullyot, a crisis communications consultant and former aide to then-Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), said the “biggest problem Weiner has at this point is the possibility that he may have used his office phone and/or office computers to conduct his chats.”

Weiner told reporters he believes he didn’t use official resources to send explicit texts and images to women he met online.

But Pelosi’s not taking his word for it.

“I am calling for an Ethics Committee investigation to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of House rules occurred,” Pelosi said. “I am deeply disappointed and saddened about this situation; for Anthony’s wife, Huma, his family, his staff and his constituents.”

Hey Weiner, you piece of worthless slime, how do you blame G W Bush for this vile act,? Every issue you Lefty Loons encountered was always Bush's fault. Let's see you spin this into the fault of the previous administration. LOL What a disgusting piece of slime you are.

The only real problem I have with this is the lying, and even then, in the context of a man shocked by the discovery of a small amount of his activities, he simply thought he could lie for a day or 2 and it would blow over. That wasnt very smart, like it unfolded, at least one of the six women has come forward, which he should have realized would happen.

He lied to the Media, big effing deal, I don't have any respect for the media anyways, they don't do their damn jobs well enough for me to care. They are constantly sniffing at the jockstrap of sensationalism and what will sell, consequences be damned. This is between him, his wife and his constituents, and I think he'll ride it out if and only if he told the truth today and nothing new comes out.

This guy panicked, told a lie once and thought to stick to it seeing if it might possibly blow over. It is cognitive dissonance, your brain reacts out of fear and panic and does the ignoble thing to do, its a natural response to fear. I will give him tons of credit for that incredible press conference that was unlike any before it, because all of us have strong reason to believe that we heard the truth when that man bared his soul for all to see.

For someone who lied, I have never seen such honesty from a politician. How many republicans would have done what he did? Mr Foot Tapper? Diaper man maybe?

I am always shocked that people will support a politician who cheated on his wife and lied to her and the public.

He is a liar. What does that make for a suitable representative. This is what is wrong with Washington. People keep supporting the dregs of humanity no matter what they do. That has to end, it is doing all of us a disservice to keep people like Weiner in there.

Tar and feather the liar and run him out of town. And Vitter as well since he is still in there.

Mr. Weiner seemed sincere regarding his apologies to his constituents, staff, wife and supporters, but he owes the entire country an apology. His lack of good judgement is shameful and his credibility is in question. We may not be in his district, but Weiner is involved in national politics and his votes about issues affect all of us, not just those in his district. We will always wonder if he's telling us the truth, no matter what the issue. This behaviour has been occurring for over three years and he felt no shame about it until he was caught. The hard-working citizens of this country deserve better: for starters, they deserve his resignation.

I said it all along that this guy was another disgusting, sleazy, greasy DEMOLIB. The people he represents are greasy NY DEMOLIBs as well, so it's no surprise that they won't call for his resignation. So many greasy DEMOLIBs infest our society. The little greasy tart who tried to cover for him is just as guilty. No sympathy for his wife either because she knew what was going on. Hummus is another greasy LIB who only cares about staying in power at the expense of truth and dignity. Pitiful.

This is what is wrong with Washington. People keep supporting the dregs of humanity no matter what they do.

Many would say we have a government we deserve, and I would be inclined to agree with them. When your team makes the mistake, you inevitably find a way to excuse or apologize for it.

I wouldnt be so quick to cry about dregs in reference to Anthony Wiener, he never actually had sex with any of the women. He does what most of my friends and I do, so I have a hard time hating him over something that is so easily relatable. Tony is like me and my friends, should I hate my friends and myself too?

PS: rep. ANTHONY WEINER, you're a disgrace, not for what you did (you can do anything you desire, it's called; freedom, liberty, and rights) you're just a disgrace because you LIED TO EVERYONE, even your Wife. THIS IS SOMEONE WE DON'T WANT ON CAPITAL HILL.